Method and system for providing supervisory control over wireless phone usage

ABSTRACT

A system for controlling wireless phone usage enables a supervisor to establish user profiles for supervised users of wireless phones across a range of parameters which are stored in a user profile database. Such parameters may include one or more locations at which use of the wireless phone is restricted or permitted. In addition, restrictions on phone use may be provided based upon total phone usage within a specified control period, time periods, dates or days of the week during which phone use is restricted or permitted. One or more lists including numbers that are always-accessible may be provided and one or more lists including numbers that are never-accessible may also be provided. In the event a call does not satisfy predefined criteria, the call is blocked. Predetermined messages may be played to the called or calling party as applicable when a call is blocked. Boolean combinations of restrictions and permissive use criteria for the wireless phone may be specified to provide for flexibility when establishing use criteria for the wireless phone.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/449,907, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOREXERCISING SUPERVISORY CONTROL OVER WIRELESS PHONE USAGE”, filed Feb.25, 2003.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to wireless communicationsystems and more specifically to a method and system for providingsupervisory control over wireless phone usage.

Wireless phones are widely used in this country. Wireless phone serviceproviders typically allow a wireless phone subscriber to place calls atany time. For reasons of safety and convenience, more and more parentsare inclined to have their children of school age carry wireless phonesto make it easier for their children to contact them and vice versa. Ithas also been observed, however, that many children that are providedwireless phones tend to spend inordinate amounts of time on calls tofriends during the school day and late into the evenings, and that theavailability of wireless phones can present a distraction during theschool day. Presently available wireless phone systems provide no way toadequately provide supervisory control of wireless phone usage byothers, e.g. children.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a method and system by whichsupervisory control may be exercised over wireless phone usage. It wouldfurther be desirable to be able to establish a user profile for wirelessphone service on a user by user basis without intervention by thetelephone service provider. Moreover, it would be desirable to be ableto have the ability to allow a supervisor to modify the user profile ascircumstances warrant without requiring human intervention by thetelephone service provider so as to allow a supervisor to readily changethe nature of the wireless service available to supervised individuals.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a method and system forexercising supervisory control over wireless phone usage is disclosed.The disclosed system allows a Supervisor, such as a parent or manager,to establish individual profiles for supervised Users of respectivewireless phones across a range of parameters. For example, a parent mayestablish user profiles for each child that is to be provided a wirelessphone. The user profiles allow the use of the respective phones by thechild subject to controls on incoming and/or outgoing calls as specifiedby the Supervisor. For example, the disclosed system allows theSupervisor to limit the total phone usage time within a specifiedcontrol period, such as a week or a month, to a predetermined number ofminutes and, to prevent incoming or outgoing calls during specifiedperiods, such as school hours, except from predetermined numbers (alwaysaccessible numbers) specified by the Supervisor. Restrictions on phoneusage may also be defined with regard to incoming or outgoing callswhile the phone is at or near defined geographic locations. For example,calls may be blocked while the phone is within the grounds of a schoolattended by the user. Additionally, a location restriction may beemployed in conjunction with other restrictions on phone use andcapabilities described herein. For example, calls may be restricted ifthe wireless phone is at a prescribed geographic location and the timeis within a time period specified by the Supervisor. More specifically,the decision whether to block or permit a call may be made as a Booleanfunction of any of the applicable restrictive or permissive criteriaapplicable to phone usage herein described. The location of the wirelessphone may be obtained using cell sector identifiers alone or incombination with signal strength information, a global positioningsystem receiver disposed within the wireless phone or any other suitabletechnique for resolving the geographic location of the wireless phone.

In one embodiment, calls to predetermined numbers specified by theSupervisor, and time spent on calls from one or more numbers specifiedby the Supervisor, are not counted toward the total number of minutespermitted during the specified control period.

When a supervised user attempts to make a call during a period in whichuse is prohibited, a message may be played to the user indicating thatthe call will not go through at the specified time. Similarly, when acall is placed to a supervised user during a period in which wirelessphone usage is prohibited, an audible message may be played to thecalling party indicating that the phone is not accessible at the presenttime.

The Supervisor may also specify telephone numbers within the userprofile that are never permitted to be connected to the respectiveuser's phone, and the system will prevent calls from such numbers frombeing connected to the respective wireless phone. Additionally, thesystem may prevent the wireless phone from being used to callpredetermined numbers specified by the Supervisor. The numbers telephonethat cannot be called from the supervised phone and the telephonenumbers of phones from which communications are blocked are referred toherein as never-accessible numbers.

If voicemail capability is enabled for the respective user's phone,voicemail messages from callers other than always-accessible callers mayoptionally be blocked during periods when phone use is restricted.

Certain numbers, namely the always accessible numbers, may be identifiedwithin the user profile and callers from these numbers may always accessthe supervised wireless phone or voicemail should the phone not beanswered, even during a prohibited use period. For example, a parent'shome number or wireless phone number may be included in the profile sothat the parent is always able to reach the child's phone. In the eventthe child or wireless phone user is not available when a call from sucha number comes in, the call may be forwarded to voicemail if voicemailis enabled for that user. An incoming call to a supervised phone isanalyzed to determine if the calling number is one of the numbers on thelist of always-accessible numbers. If the calling number is not one ofthe numbers on the always-accessible list, the call will not go throughduring a prohibited use period. However, a caller is provided theability to access the supervised wireless phone upon dialing of asecurity code referred to herein as a cut-through code. Thus, theSupervisor, (or an individual having knowledge of the cut-through code)may access the supervised wireless phone when calling from a numberother than one of the always-accessible numbers via the use of thecut-through code.

The user profiles are maintained within a database that may be modifiedat any time by the Supervisor. More specifically, the Supervisor can login over a global communications network, or other network that permitsremote access, and can change usage limits in real time, change, add,delete numbers that are always or never accessible to/by a particularsupervised wireless phone, change restricted use times, and make allother permitted changes to the respective user profiles. To assure thatchanges to the respective user profiles managed by the Supervisor may bemade only by the Supervisor, a security code is required to be enteredand verified before permitting changes to be made to the managed userprofiles under the respective Supervisor's control. The presentlydescribed supervisory functions may operate independent of billingcontrols such as real-time pre-paid billing controls, or post-paidbilling systems, that may also be applicable to the respectivesupervised phone, although the information defining the restrictions onphone use may be stored in a separate database or a common database withbilling parameters. Alternatively, the presently described functionalitymay be provided as an overlay to pre-paid billing controls or other callbilling and control systems and may be configured to share resourceswith such other systems while exercising call control independently ofsuch other systems. The presently described supervisory system mayemploy one or more servers that operate independent of servers thatprovide billing functionality, or alternatively, the presently describedsupervisory system may share server resources while exercising controlindependent of restrictions pertaining to billing functions.

Other aspects, features and advantages of the presently disclosed systemfor exercising supervisory control over wireless phone usage will beapparent from the Detailed Description of the Invention that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention in conjunction with thedrawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a system operative in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another block diagram depicting a system operative inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting the processing of incoming calls;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting the processing of incoming calls;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the processing of outgoing calls; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting the processing of outgoing calls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/449,907, entitled“METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EXERCISING SUPERVISORY CONTROL OVER WIRELESSPHONE USAGE”, filed Feb. 25, 2003, is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method forproviding Supervisory control over wireless phone usage is disclosed.Referring to FIG. 1, a Supervisor S1 10, such as a parent or manager, isprovided the ability to define a user profile for each of one or moreusers, such as children or employees. The user profile includesparameters and information that are used to manage phone usage. Forexample, the user profile may specify the total number of minutes thesupervised phone may be used during a specified control period, the timeof day and/or day of week when incoming and/or outgoing calls areprohibited, telephone numbers for numbers that are never accessible, andtelephone numbers that are always accessible via the respectivesupervised phone, among other controlled characteristics.

Referring to FIG. 1, each wireless phone, shown for purposes ofillustration as P1 12 and P2 14, may communicate with a wireless switch16. For purposes of explanation, the wireless switch 16 in theillustrative embodiment may be a switch that is associated with arespective home serving system. The wireless switch 16 is communicablycoupled to a Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC) 18 within a ServiceSwitching Point SSP 1 20, which, in turn, is communicably coupled withthe presently disclosed Supervisory Control System 22 via atelecommunications network 25 which typically includes a plurality ofSignal Transfer Points (STPs) 26 a, 26 b, 26 c, 26 d, as known in theart.

The Supervisory Control System 22 includes a Service Control Point (SCP)24 that communicates with the telecommunications network 25 and performsSS7 signaling, a Service Data Point (SDP) 30 that includes a UserProfile Database 32 for storing a user profile associated with eachsupervised wireless phone subscribed to the presently disclosed service,and Business Logic 34 that serves as an intelligent interface betweenthe SCP 24 and the User Profile Database 32. The Business Logic 34typically comprises a computer that executes software to provide thesupervisory processes herein described. The Supervisory Control System22 further includes a Web-Server 36 that permits accounts to beestablished in the User Profile Database 32 and updated by Supervisor S110 as subsequently discussed. The Supervisory Control System 22 in theillustrated embodiment also includes a co-located Intelligent Peripheralor VRU 38 that is operative to play audible scripts in response tocontrols issued by the SDP 30. The VRU 38 may alternatively be locatedgeographically proximate to the respective SSP 20 as is known in theart. The SCP 24, Web-Server 36, SDP 30 and VRU 38 in the illustratedembodiment are communicably coupled via a local area network (LAN) 40,such as an Ethernet or any other suitable network. The SCP 24 employsSS7 signaling over the telecommunications network 25 and the SDP 30executes control software to implement the supervisory control functionsherein described.

The Supervisor S1 10, operating through a PC, mobile phone or otherInternet enabled access point 42 equipped with a suitable browser ormicro-browser, may access the Web-Server 36 via the Internet 28 oranother suitable network to establish and modify user profiles for therespective Users U1 44, U2 46.

Control and operation of the presently disclosed Supervisory ControlSystem 22 falls within several areas of functionality, which are listedbelow:

1. Supervisory Control System service subscription and provisioning.

2. User profile configuration

3. Event control

These functional capabilities are discussed in greater detail below.

1. Supervisory Control System Service Subscription and Provisioning

Further with reference to FIG. 1, the Supervisor S1 10 may create anSupervisory Control System account by accessing the Web-Server 36 withinthe Supervisory Control System 22 via the Access point 42 oralternatively, by calling a service representative who enters theapplicable account information. A supervisory account identifier isassociated with the respective Supervisory Control System account andstored in the User Profile Database 32. Account setup includes thefollowing three functions:

-   1. provisioning the Supervisory Control System account within the    wireless network;-   2. provisioning the Supervisory Control System account within the    billing system so that appropriate charges will be applied with    respect to each wireless supervised phone; and-   3. establishing applicable Supervisory Control System parameters for    each supervised wireless phone.

More specifically, when creating a Supervisory Control System accountvia a graphical user interface provided through the Web-Server 36, theSupervisor S1 10 may employ a browser resident on the access point 42 toaccess Web pages served by the Web-Server 36 within the SupervisoryControl System 22 or alternatively, the Supervisor S1 10 may place avoice call to a service representative who enters applicable SupervisoryControl System account information.

When creating a Supervisory Control System account via the Internet, theWeb-Server 36 is accessed via a domain-name associated with a carrierand linked to the respective Web-Server 36. The interface provided bythe Web-Server 36 guides the Supervisor S1 10 through the necessarysteps to establish a Supervisory Control System account via one or moreinterface screens served by the Web-Server 36. Any suitable format forinterface screens may be used as is appropriate for a givenimplementation, so long as the interface allows the Supervisor S1 10 toestablish a Supervisory Control System account and to enter User Profiledata applicable to one or more supervised phones.

After accessing the Web-Server 36, the Supervisor S1 10 may log in viathe access point 42 using a conventional login registration process.During this login process, the Supervisor S1 10 typically provides auser name and an email address. In response, the Web-Server 36 emails apass code to the specified email address. The Supervisor S1 10 thenenters the pass code into an interface screen served by the Web-Server36 to confirm that the Supervisory Control System account is associatedwith the proper individual. The supervisory account identifier isassociated with the Supervisory Control System account established bythe Supervisor.

2. User Profile Configuration

Following the creation of a Supervisory Control System account asdescribed above, the phones to be supervised through the account, areidentified to the SSP 1 20 so that a determination can be made whethercalls relating to such phones should be processed by the SupervisoryControl System 22. Accordingly, the Supervisor S1 10 is requested by theWeb-Server 36 to enter a logical phone identifier (which is referred toherein as a Mobile Station Identifier (MSID)) and the Electronic SerialNumber (ESN) for each wireless phone in the Supervisory Control Systemaccount. The specific Mobile Station Identifier employed may vary fromsystem to system. For example, the MSID may be a Mobile Directory Number(MDN), a Mobile Identification Number (MIN), an International MobileSubscriber Identity (IMSI) or a Mobile Subscriber International ServicesDirectory Number (MSISDN) or any other suitable phone identifier. In theillustrative example, the MSID and the ESN for wireless phones P1 12 andP2 14 shown in FIG. 1, that are to be supervised by the respectiveSupervisor S1 10, are associated with the Supervisory Control Systemaccount. The Supervisor S1 10 also associates the name of each user withthe applicable identifier(s) for the respective wireless phones. Forexample, in the illustrative configuration shown in FIG. 1, theSupervisor S1 10 would enter the name of User 1 U1 44 in associationwith wireless phone P1 12, and the name of User 2 U2 in association withwireless phone P2 14. An MSID is used to identify the wireless phoneduring call processing. As indicated above, the MSID used may vary fromsystem to system and additionally at different points within a givensystem.

Information and parameters defining restrictions or permissiveconditions for each supervised user's phone are stored in the UserProfile Database 32. The parameters are employed to control the use ofthe respective wireless phone or to establish conditions that definewhen alert or warning messages should be provided with respect to theusage of the supervised phone.

Following the association of the applicable identifier(s) with therespective users, the Web-Server 36 steps the Supervisor S1 10 through aconfiguration sequence for each user having a phone to be supervisedthrough the Supervisory Control System account. During this process, theWeb-Server 36 presents the terms and conditions applicable to theservice and requests that the Supervisor S1 10 accept the terms andagree to payment of a predetermined monthly fee for each wireless phonethat is subject to control of the Supervisory Control System 22.

The Supervisor S1 10 also enters user profile data to be stored withinthe User Profile Database 32. The user profile data specifies how therespective wireless phone may be used and characteristics associatedwith such usage. The user profile data may impose restrictions on theuse of a phone associated with the user profile data or, alternatively,may specify that warnings and/or alerts regarding phone usage are to beprovided to the User or Supervisor S1 10 without restricting phone use.Such warnings or alerts may indicate that usage restrictions are ineffect or provide alerts that pertain to the amount of phone usage.

The user profile data described below corresponds to the data that maybe entered for a single user. It should be recognized that the sameprocess is repeated for each user specified by the Supervisor S1 10within the Supervisory Control System account.

By way of example, and not limitation, the Supervisor S1 10 enters thefollowing information from the access point 42 via a browser interfacein response to prompts by the Web-Server 36.

3. Event Control

3a. Overall Usage Limits

The Supervisor S1 10 may optionally specify an overall usage limit for arespective user. The overall usage limit specifies the number of minutesthat the wireless phone associated with that user may be used within apredetermined control period, such as a week, a month or any othersuitable interval. For example, the predetermined control period maycorrespond to a weekly or monthly period specified by the Supervisor S110, a billing period, or a calendar month, and may be revised from timeto time by the Supervisor S1 10 via the Web-Server 36 interface orthrough a service representative who updates the User Profile Database32. Once the user of a supervised phone uses a number of minutes equalto the overall usage limit allotted for the control period, no furtherincoming or outgoing calls are permitted until the next control period,except for calls to or from always-accessible numbers as discussedbelow. If the usage limit is set to 0 minutes, the phone will only beusable for calls to/from always-accessible numbers that are defined bythe Supervisor S1 10. As an exception to the restrictions discussed inthe preceding two sentences, in the case of an incoming call that isplaced to a restricted phone using a valid cut-through code as describedbelow, the call is connected and in one embodiment, the call timeassociated with such a call is not assessed against the user's usagelimit.

In one embodiment, the time on calls to or from the always-accessiblenumbers are not applied against the overall usage limit. For example, itmay be desirable for a child to be able to call or be called by a parentwithout exhaustion of the overall usage limit established by the parent.In such event, the Supervisor (parent) may establish a usage limit andcalls made to or from the parent are not applied against the overallusage limit.

3b. Warning Messages and Tones

Even if the Supervisor S1 10 does not establish an overall usage limitfor a respective user, the Supervisor S1 10 may optionally enter anindication in the user profile information that warnings or alertsregarding phone usage should be provided to the user or supervisor afterone or more usage thresholds are reached. For example, the Supervisormay specify in the User Profile Database 32 that usage alerts are to beprovided after a predetermined number of minutes and at subsequentintervals. The Supervisory Control System 22 maintains a valuereflective of the cumulative usage of the wireless device within thecontrol period. From time to time the Supervisory Control System 22determines whether the cumulative usage of the wireless device hasreached the interval value specified by the Supervisor at which usagealerts are to be provided. During a call, such usage alert may, forexample, be provided to the user in the form of a predetermined tone.Pre-call or post-call audible warning messages to a subscribed user maybe injected as an audible script as discussed herein via the VRU 38 oralternatively as text messages via a data bearer service to advise theuser of the alert condition.

Additionally, alerts may be generated and forwarded to the Supervisorregarding the usage of the supervised phone at periodic usage intervals.More specifically, the Supervisor may specify a usage interval at whichalerts are to be generated and store a value corresponding to the usageinterval in the User Profile Database in association with an identifierof the supervised wireless phone. The Supervisory Control System 22 maythen determine when the cumulative usage of the wireless device within acontrol period equals the usage interval specified by the Supervisor oris an integral multiple of the time interval specified by theSupervisor. An alert message may be generated and forwarded to theSupervisor when the cumulative usage of the wireless phone equals thetime interval specified by the Supervisor or is an integral multiple ofthe specified time interval or at any times specified by the Supervisor.The alert may be forwarded to the Supervisor as an audible script, by atext messaging service or alternatively, via email delivery. Whenforwarding an alert to the Supervisor as an audible script, the messagemay be communicated to a telephone number specified by the Supervisorand stored in the User Profile Database 32 in association with anidentifier for the wireless phone. When forwarding an alert message tothe Supervisor as a text message, the text message may be forwarded tothe Supervisor at a telephone number specified by the Supervisor andstored in the User Profile Database 32 in association with the wirelessphone identifier. When forwarding the alert message to an email address,the message may be forwarded to an email address specified by theSupervisor and stored in the User Profile Database 32 in associationwith the wireless phone identifier. The alert message may also becommunicated to the Supervisory account by the Web Server 36 andaccessed by the Supervisor either at the Access Point 42 or via apersonal computer, mobile phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA)having access to the Web Server 36. At the beginning of each controlperiod (e.g. each month) the value maintained by the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 pertaining to the cumulative usage of the wireless phone maybe reset to reflect no usage of the wireless phone within the newcontrol period.

The above-described alerts may be forwarded to the Supervisor and/orUser with or without the imposition of restrictions on the use of thesupervised phone.

3c. Permitted/Non-Permitted Usage Periods

Within the user profile data, the Supervisor S1 10 may specify timeperiods during which general phone use is permitted or not permitted.Whether an embodiment of the disclosed system provides for thespecification of prohibited usage times or permitted usage times is amatter of design choice.

By way of example, and with reference to FIG. 1, within the user profiledata, the Supervisor S1 10 may specify that User U1 44, who for purposesof illustration is assumed to be a young child, is not permitted to usethe supervised wireless phone P1 12 for general usage calls other thanbetween 4pm and 8 pm on weekdays and between 9 am and 8 pm on weekendsand holidays.

If the overall general usage limit for the specified control period isset to 0 minutes for a particular supervised phone, the system permitscalls only to and from always accessible numbers and additionally, callsto the supervised phone using a valid cut-through code as discussedbelow.

3d. Location Controls

Also within the user profile data, the Supervisor S1 10 may specify oneor more geographic locations or geographic areas within which generalphone use is permitted or not permitted. Whether an embodiment of thedisclosed system provides for the specification of prohibited usagelocations or geographic areas, or permitted usage locations orgeographic areas, is a matter of design choice. The Supervisor mayspecify the geographic location as a street address and a converter orconversion service, as known in the art, may be employed to resolve thestreet address into a set of coordinates in a predetermined coordinatesystem. For example, the street address specified by the Supervisor maybe stored in the User Profile Database 32 and converted into latitudeand longitude coordinates prior to use. Following conversion of thestreet address into coordinates represented within the specifiedcoordinate system, the coordinates may be stored within the User ProfileDatabase so that the conversion need not be performed each time a callto or from the respective wireless device is made.

The location of the phone is generated using a global positioningsystem, cell sector identifiers or any other suitable technique forgenerating coordinates defining the location of the phone. Morespecifically, cell sector identifiers may be employed to resolve thegeographic location of the wireless phone. The function of determiningthe geographic location of a wireless phone is performed via the use ofa location server 57, also known as a location service broker. Suchservices are commercially available. One company that offers locationservice broker services is Apertio Limited, Kingswood, Bristol, UnitedKingdom and such services are described at www.invergence.co.uk. Morespecifically, the location service broker is operative to convert cellsector identifiers into a coordinate system such as latitude andlongitude for subsequent use.

Alternatively, location information regarding the current location ofthe supervised wireless phone P1 12 may be obtained through the use of aGPS (Global Positioning System) receiver disposed within the wirelessphone.

After determination of the geographic location of the phone, thelocation of the wireless phone is compared to the geographic locationspecified in the User Profile Database 32 to determine if a call shouldproceed. More specifically, the Supervisor may specify a distancebetween the location specified in the User Profile Database and thelocation of the wireless phone within which the location of the wirelessphone is deemed to correspond to the location specified by Supervisor.If the location of the wireless phone corresponds to at least onelocation specified by the Supervisor within the User Profile Database32, the call may be permitted to be completed or the connection of thecall may be prevented based upon the parameters specified by theSupervisor in the User Profile Database 32 in the event of such acorrespondence. By way of example, and with reference to FIG. 1, withinthe user profile data, the Supervisor S1 10 may specify that User U1 44,who for purposes of illustration is assumed to be a young child, is notpermitted to use the supervised wireless phone P1 12 for general usagecalls when the phone is generally within the geographic area defined bythe school grounds of User U1 44.

Any appropriate technique for definition of such a restricted area maybe used. For example, an indication of a restricted address, combinedwith the radius of the area to be considered restricted around thataddress, may be entered by the Supervisor S1 10 into the user profiledata to provide the restricted area definition.

The present system may be embodied to allow the definition of restrictedor permitted phone use locations for incoming calls, outgoing calls, orboth.

i. Use of Cell Sector Identifiers

The Supervisory Control System 22, in one embodiment, obtains cellsector identifiers and uses the cell sector identifiers alone or incombination with associated signal strength information to obtain thelocation coordinates of the wireless phone. More specifically, thewireless phone has access to the received radio signal transmissionstrength at the mobile station radio transceiver (P1, P2). A processoron the wireless phone may execute a script or application that enablesthe wireless phone to calculate, extract and transmit signal strengthmeasurements to the network via a non-displaylable SMS message or viaany other suitable protocol. The signal strength data is coupled withthe cell sector identifier information and the location area code thatmay be obtained from the home location register (HLR) 56. The signalstrength and cell sector identifier information may then be forwarded tothe location server 57 to calculate coordinates of the mobile station.The location server 57 may generate coordinates using the cell sectoridentifiers alone or in combination with the signal strength informationto resolve the wireless phone coordinates with greater accuracy. Inparticular, the Supervisory Control System 22 communicates the cellsector identifiers and optionally the signal strength information to thecommercially available service provider, such as the location server 57,to map cell sector identifiers and signal strength data into coordinatesthat identify the location of the wireless phone. The location servermay also be employed to map street address or address informationentered in the Profile Database by the Supervisor into coordinates thatare returned to the Supervisory Control System 22.

It should be recognized that the mapping of street address informationto latitude and longitude information may also be performed by theSupervisory Control System 22. In the circumstance in which the mappingis performed by the Supervisory Control System 22, the SupervisoryControl System 22 would include the location server 57 functionality.

The Supervisory Control System may include a program that inspects theHLR 56 at specific time intervals, obtains or derives the latitude andlongitude of the supervised phone at each such time, and arithmeticallyderives a speed of the supervised phone based upon the locationinformation and the time interval. A speed threshold may be stored bythe Supervisor in the User Profile Database 32. If the speed thresholdis exceeded, a program within the Supervisory Control System may takesuch actions as are specified by the Supervisor. For example, theSupervisory Control System may be programmed to forward to theSupervisor S1 10 an audible message communicated to a telephone numberspecified by the Supervisor, a text message via a data bearer service(such as SMS messaging), or an email message that includes an alert thatthe respective supervised phone has been detected as having exceeded thespecified speed threshold. Additionally, the Supervisory Control Systemmay be programmed to communicate a notice to the Supervisor S1 10 viathe Web Server 36 that is posted in association with the Supervisoryaccount and accessible by the Supervisor. Moreover, the SupervisoryControl System 22 may be programmed to prevent further incoming oroutgoing calls or to terminate any call in progress at the time of thedetection of the excessive speed condition.

In the event of an outgoing call by a supervised phone, the networkinspects the HLR and identifies the telephone as one being managed bythe Supervisory Control System 22. This determination may be made basedupon the telephone number of the calling party or any other suitablephone identifier. In response to the determination that the phoneassociated with the respective phone identifier is managed by theSupervisory Control System 22, the network passes call control to theSupervisory Control System 22. The Supervisory Control System 22 looksup the user profile in the User Profile Database 32 for the callingparty. Upon ascertaining that there is a location restriction on phoneuse, the Supervisory Control System 22 sends an inquiry to the HLR toascertain the location of the calling party. The HLR returns to theSupervisory Control System 22 the cell sector identifier associated withthe calling party. In one embodiment the Supervisory Control System 22obtains coordinates of the wireless phone using the location server 57and determines whether the coordinates of the wireless phone correspondto the coordinates corresponding to the address entered into the UserProfile Database by the Supervisor.

In another embodiment, the Supervisory Control System 22 compares thecell sector identifier associated with the calling party with thelocations identified in the User Profile Database 32. More specifically,using a location server, the addresses entered by the Supervisor aremapped into cell sector identifiers. If the cell sector identifier ofthe calling party's phone corresponds to a restricted cell sectoridentifer identified in the User Profile Database 32, the SupervisoryControl System 22 provides appropriate signaling to the control networkto prevent the call from being connected. It should be appreciated thatif the cell sector identifier of the calling phone is forwarded to theSupervisory Control System 22 along with the request for service by theSupervisory Control System 22 a subsequent request for the cell sectoridentifier can be avoided.

When a call is placed to a supervised phone, the network inspects theHLR and identifies the supervised phone as one that is managed by theSupervisory Control System 32. In response to this determination, callcontrol is passed to the Supervisory Control System 22. The SupervisoryControl System 22 looks up the user profile in the User Profile Database32 for the called party. Upon ascertaining that there is a locationrestriction on phone use, the Supervisory Control System 22 sends aninquiry to the HLR to ascertain the location of the called party. TheHLR returns to the Supervisory Control System 22 the cell sectoridentifier(s) associated with the called party and optionally signalstrength information associated with each of the cell sector identifiersas discussed above. The Supervisory Control System 22 then compares thelocation of the wireless phone to the location specified in the UserProfile Database 32. This comparison may involve a comparison ofcoordinates after resolving the cell sector identifier data intocoordinates or alternatively a comparison of cell sector identifiers todetermine if the wireless phone is at a location that corresponds to alocation specified by the Supervisor in the User Profile Database 32.The Supervisory Control System 22 provides appropriate signaling to thecontrol network to either permit the call to be connected or to preventthe call from being connected based upon the result of the comparison.It should be noted that if the cell sector identifier of the wirelessphone is forwarded to the Supervisory Control System 22 along with therequest for service by the Supervisory Control System 22 a subsequentrequest for the cell sector identifier can be avoided.

ii. Use of GPS Coordinates

Alternatively, GPS coordinates may be employed to provide restrictionson phone use for a supervised phone. As discussed above, the SupervisorS1 10 enters into the User Profile Database 32 a physical address or theidentification of a location at which the phone use is restricted orpermitted, as applicable. The physical address, street address oridentification entered into the User Profile Database 32 by theSupervisor S1 10 is converted into coordinates. More specifically, aconverter accepts input information in the form entered by theSupervisor and converts such information into coordinates defining thelocation of the wireless phone. In the instant example, it is assumedthat the Supervisor has entered into the User Profile Database 32 anaddress at which the use of the supervised phone is restricted.

The Supervisory Control System 22 accesses the location server 57 toobtain the geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude description)corresponding to the restricted/permitted use location specified by theSupervisor as an address. The geographic area in which the use of thewireless phone is restricted may be represented by a set of coordinatesdefining boundaries, as a mathematical description, as a set ofcoordinates and a radius defining a circular area, or any other suitableway of describing the geographic area within which the phone use isrestricted or permitted. While the presently illustrated embodimentutilizes latitude and longitude coordinates to identify the geographicarea of interest, any other suitable coordinate system may be employed.The Supervisory Control System 22 stores the coordinates or mathematicaldescription defining the geographic location in which the use of thewireless phone is restricted.

In one embodiment, the location of the wireless phone is deemed to be atthe location specified in the User Profile Database, if the coordinatesof the wireless phone are within a specified distance of the coordinatescorresponding to an address specified in the User Profile Database 32.The specified distance may be input by the Supervisor S1 10 and storedin the User Profile Database 32 or a default distance may be specifiedwhich may be modified by the Supervisor S1 10.

In response to an outgoing call from a managed phone, the HLR associatedwith the wireless phone identifies the phone as one that is serviced bythe Supervisory Control System 22 and passes control to the SupervisoryControl System 22. The Supervisory Control System 22 inspects the UserProfile Database 32 and identifies the calling phone as one that has oneor more restrictions involving locations of use. The Supervisory ControlSystem initiates a network query to obtain GPS coordinates of thehandset which are provided by a GPS receiver contained within thewireless phone. The network query may comprise a query of the wirelessphone or any other network element having access to the GPS coordinatesof the wireless phone. In response to the network query, the GPScoordinates of the supervised phone are returned to the SupervisoryControl System 22.

The coordinates of the wireless phone are then compared by theSupervisory Control System 22 to the restricted area as specified withinthe User Profile Database 32 to determine to the wireless phonecoordinates are within a restricted area. If the coordinates of thewireless phone are within the restricted area, the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 prevents the call from being connected.

Additionally, the Supervisory Control System 22 may include a programthat permits the wireless phone or the network to be queried toascertain the physical location of the phone in response to the receiptof a control code such as “*” or any other suitable control code enteredon the keypad of the wireless phone by the supervised user.Alternatively, the Supervisory Control System 22 may initiate a query toascertain the location of the supervised phone in response to an inquiryinitiated by the Supervisor S1 10. Additionally, the Supervisor mayinitiate a query to ascertain the location of the wireless phone for oneof the supervised Users. The request from the Supervisor may becommunicated to the Supervisory Control System 22 from the Supervisor'sphone, from the Access Point 42 via the Web Server 36 or via any othercommunication path. Location information responsive to a requestinitiated either by the supervised user or the Supervisor may becommunicated to the Supervisor audibly via a script played by the VRU 38to the Supervised User's phone, via text messaging or via email. Priorto communication of the location of the wireless phone to the SupervisorS1 10, a conversion of the wireless phone coordinate data to an addressmay be performed and address information may be conveyed to theSupervisor instead of coordinate data.

In the circumstance of an incoming call to a supervised phone, adetermination is made whether the call may be completed as discussedabove.

It should be recognized that if the coordinates of the supervised phoneare provided along with the request for service by the SupervisoryControl System 22, the network query can be avoided.

iii. Combinations of Restrictions or Permissive Use

The location information obtained via a GPS receiver disposed in thewireless phone, or a system that resolves the wireless phone locationusing cell sector identifiers, may be employed in conjunction with otherrestrictions and/or permissions to determine whether a call placed to orfrom the wireless phone should be connected. For example, Booleanfunctions of restrictions and/or permissions described herein and thelocation information may be generated to determine whether a call shouldbe connected or blocked. More specifically, a location restriction maybe employed in conjunction with a time period restriction to prevent thewireless phone from being used for normal calls while a child is atschool and during the normal school hours of 9 am to 3 pm. Thus, thechild could make and receive calls while at school before and after thenormal school day or while away from the school. Similarly, locationrestrictions may be employed in conjunction with one or more lists ofalways accessible numbers and/or one or more lists of never accessiblenumbers to allow or disallow calls to/from specific numbers based uponthe location of the supervised wireless phone and the telephone numberson the lists of always accessible numbers and/or never accessiblenumbers as applicable. Finally, a determination may be made by theSupervisory Control System 22 whether to complete or block a call basedupon a combination of one or more of the wireless phone location, alwaysaccessible or never accessible numbers, date, day or the week and/or apermitted or restricted time period.

While the restrictions and/or permissions regarding phone usage areentered by the Supervisor S1 10 into the User Profile Database 32 forthe respective wireless phone, information representative of thelocation information stored in the User Profile Database may bedownloaded from the User Profile Database 32 to a first memory regionwithin the wireless phone and a determination may be made within thewireless phone whether to connect a call dialed by the wireless phoneuser based upon a comparison of the downloaded information to locationinformation generated within the wireless phone. Such a determinationmay be made using a processor within the wireless phone that executes asoftware program stored in a second memory region within the phone. Thefirst and second memory regions may be within the same physical memoryor different physical memories within the wireless phone. For example,if a supervisor has entered into the respective User Profile Database 32a restriction on phone use that indicates that the wireless phone maynot be used when a student is at school between 9 am and 3 pm, adetermination may be made by the processor within the wireless phonewhether the phone is at the restricted location and whether the currenttime is within the specified time period, in which event the call may beblocked. By making such a determination within the wireless phone ratherthan at the Supervisory Control System 22, unnecessary network trafficis avoided. It should be recognized that the location information storedwithin the User Profile Database 32 may comprise conventional streetaddress information which may be converted to latitude and longitudecoordinates prior to communication to the wireless phone. Thus, acomparison of the latitude and longitude coordinates corresponding tothe street address entered by the Supervisor S1 10 may be made withrespect to the latitude and longitude coordinates obtained from a GPSreceiver disposed within the wireless phone and a determination may bemade that the wireless phone is at the address specified by theSupervisor if a distance between a location specified by the latitudeand longitude associated with the street address and a locationspecified by the latitude and longitude obtained from a GPS receiverwithin the wireless phone is less than a predetermined thresholddistance. If the wireless phone is determined to be at the addressspecified in the User Profile Database 32, the call may be terminated orconnected as specified by applicable rules maintained within the UserProfile Database 32.

3e. Cut-Through Capability

A Supervisor or other individual that desires to call a superviseduser's phone (assuming the phone is on and not otherwise in use), mayalways reach the user's phone provided that a cut-through code has beenestablished for the respective Supervisor or entered by the Supervisor.More specifically, in one embodiment, in response to prompting by theWeb-Server 36, the Supervisor S1 10 may provide a cut-through code thatis typically defined as being between n and m numerical characters inlength. For example a numeric code between 4 and 6 characters in lengthmay be employed. The cut-through code allows the Supervisor S1 10 toaccess one or more of the supervised phone(s) during hours or undercircumstances in which phone usage is restricted and when the SupervisorS1 10 is not located at an always-accessible number. The cut-throughcode is communicated from the access point 42 to the web server 36 viathe communications network 28. The web server communicates thecut-through code over a data path to the User Profile Database 32 forstorage. The data path may include a computer that forms a component ofthe business logic 34 and that writes the cut-through code to the UserProfile Database 32.

In one embodiment, as a default, the cut-through code is assigned basedupon the Supervisor's user name that is communicated from the accesspoint to the User Profile Database 32. For example if the Supervisor'suser name is “abcdef” the cut-through code would be “222333” whichrepresent the number keys on a typical phone keypad that correspond tothe letters in the username. If the username were “222333”, thecut-through code would be “222333”. By way of further example, if theusername were “abc444”, the cut-through code would be “222444”. If theusername were more than six characters in length, the cut-through codemay be truncated at a predetermined number of characters, such as at sixcharacters. By using the username as the default cut-through code, thenecessity to have the Supervisor input this code is avoided. TheSupervisor may be permitted to modify the default cut-through code tospecify a different cut-through code to provide higher security.

The Supervisor may also convey the cut-through code to an administratororally and the administrator may input the cut-through code to theSupervisory Control System 32.

When a Supervisor having knowledge of the cut-through code calls asupervised phone at a time when the use of the phone is subject to arestriction on use, a message is played to the calling party (theSupervisor) that indicates that the called phone is not accessible. Ifthe Supervisor successfully enters the cut-through code before apredetermined time interval expires, the call is allowed to proceed. Ifthe cut-through code is not entered within the predetermined timeinterval, the call is blocked. If the call is allowed to proceed, acontrol message of a first type is forwarded to the control network tosignal that the call should be connected. If the call is not to beconnected, a control message of a second type is forwarded to thecontrol network to prevent the call from being connected.

The “cut-through” capability may be tested during the user profile datasetup. At such time, the Supervisor S1 10 may have physical possessionof the phones controlled under the Supervisory Control System accountbefore the phones have been distributed to their users. Morespecifically, in response to prompting from the Web-Server 36, theSupervisor S1 10 powers on the respective user's phone, which is subjectto at least one use restriction, and attempts to call it. When theSupervisor S1 10 hears a prompt advising that the phone is not presentlyreachable, the Supervisor S1 10 enters the previously selectedcut-through code. If the cut-through capability is functioning properly,the respective user's phone rings as a result of the entry of thecut-through code.

3f. Always-Accessible Numbers

In response to a prompt from the Web-Server 36, the Supervisor S1 10 mayoptionally enter a first list of telephone numbers that may always becalled by the respective user and a second list of numbers that mayalways call the respective user's phone number assuming the wirelessphone is powered on and reachable within the wireless network. Theselists may be provided as separate lists or alternatively, may beaggregated as a single list. Optionally, the Supervisor S1 10 may enteror associate within the user profile data short codes that correspond tothe always-accessible numbers so that one or more of thealways-accessible numbers can be rapidly called in an emergencysituation without the need for a user to remember the numbers.

3g. Never-Accessible Numbers

In response to a prompt from the Web-Server 36, the Supervisor S1 10 mayoptionally enter a list comprising one or more telephone numbers ortelephone number prefixes that the user of an associated phone shouldnever be able to call and a list of telephone numbers or telephonenumber prefixes that should never be able to call the supervised user'sphone. These lists may be entered as separate lists or alternatively maybe aggregated as a single list.

3h. Saving of User Profile Data

When the Supervisor S1 10 initiates the saving of the user profile data,that data is associated with the respective user. If the Supervisor S110 exits the setup routine without saving the user profile data, therespective wireless number is provisioned within the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 for unrestricted use.

3i. Setup of Additional Users

The Web-Server 36 may prompt the Supervisor S1 10 to determine whetherhe/she desires to utilize the same user profile data for the next userthat needs to be configured. The Supervisor S1 10 may apply thepreviously entered user profile data for the setup or the next user oralternatively, establish a new user profile for the next user. Moreover,as further discussed below, user profiles may be defined and modified ona user group basis. Under such circumstances, the disclosed systemenables the Supervisor S1 10 to define a set of user profile parametersthat apply to a group of phones and associated users. The controlparameters for the group can subsequently be modified and members of thegroup added or deleted.

4. Supervisory Control System Operation

4a. Supervisory Control System Operation for Incoming Calls to a User

Operation and signaling for the Supervisory Control System 22 withrespect to a telephone call that is placed to a user is described belowwith respect to the devices in FIG. 1 and the steps shown in FIG. 3.

The following example describes an exemplary call from a calling partyUS 52 from a telephone P5 50 to a called party U2 46 at a supervisedwireless phone P2 14. It is assumed for purposes of the presentdiscussion that Supervisor S1 10 established a user profile applicableto phone P2 14 at a prior time and that the user profile for the phoneP2 14 prohibits general phone usage during school hours from 8:00 am to4:00 pm weekdays.

The call placed by caller U5 52 from phone P5 50 is received at anassociated Signal Switching Point (SSP 2) 54 as depicted at step 80 ofFIG. 3. The Signal Switching Point (SSP 2) 54 accesses the Dialed NumberIdentification Service (DNIS) which includes the dialed telephone numberfor the call. From the DNIS, the SSP identifies the service provider forthe dialed phone number and routes the call to the applicable serviceprovider. In the instant example, the call is routed to SSP 1 20 whichis within the home serving system for the wireless phone P2 14.

The SSP 1 20 within the home serving system for the called numberextracts a MSID from the DNIS. The SSP 1 20 performs a lookup within theHome Location Register (HLR) 56 using the extracted identifier to obtainthe HLR record for the respective called wireless phone P2. The HLRrecord includes data that instructs the respective Signal SwitchingPoint (SSP 1) 20 what to do next. If the HLR record indicates that theSupervisory Control System 22 should be accessed in the event of callsto the respective called party, the Supervisory Control System 22 issignaled. If the HLR 56 does not indicate that the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 should be accessed, the call is connected subject to any otherrestrictions and protocols that may be applicable.

In the instant example, the HLR record includes information thatinstructs the SSP 1 to signal the Supervisory Control System 22 that anincoming call is pending. More specifically, as depicted at step 82 ofFIG. 3, the respective SSP (SSP 1) 20 signals the SCP 24 within theSupervisory Control System 22 that an incoming call is pending for acalled party having a specified MSID. The Service Data Point (SDP) 30within the Supervisory Control System 22 performs a lookup within theUser Profile Database 32 as depicted at step 84 of FIG. 3 to ascertainwhether the MSID corresponds to a user profile within the User ProfileDatabase. If as a consequence of the lookup, it is determined that theMSID corresponds to an MSID within the User Profile Database 32, theBusiness Logic 34 executes a software program as shown at step 86 ofFIG. 3 to determine how the call should be handled. As a result of theBusiness Logic 34 processing, the SCP 24 may be instructed to initiateSS7 signaling and a VRU such as VRU 38 may be instructed to play anaudible script to a supervised phone or a calling party. Morespecifically, if the MSID of the called party corresponds to the MSID ofa phone within the User Profile Database 32, the Business Logic 34within the SDP 30 accesses the relevant data within the applicablerecords of the User Profile Database 32, current conditions, such astime, date, calling number, and called number and determines what actionshould be taken. Exemplary Supervisory Control System processing underthe control of the Business Logic 34 is described below with referenceto FIG. 4.

As depicted at step 90 of FIG. 4, the Business Logic 34 determines atstep 90 of FIG. 4 whether the calling number corresponds to analways-accessible telephone number that can always be put through to thesupervised phone P2 14. If the calling number corresponds to a telephonenumber that is specified in the User Profile Database 32 as being analways-accessible number that can always access phone P2 14, the SCP 24within the Supervisory Control System 22 signals the SSP 1 20 associatedwith the phone P2 14 (in the instant example SSP 1 20) to allow the callto be connected to the phone P2 14 as indicated at step 92. In response,the call is routed through the MSC 18 in SSP 1 20 to P2 14 to establishthe desired connection between P5 52 and the supervised wireless phoneP2 14.

If the Business Logic 34 determines, as depicted at step 90, that thecalling number does not correspond to a number that can always accessthe respective phone P2 14, the Business Logic 34 next determineswhether the calling number corresponds to a number that is identifiedwithin the User Profile Database 32 as never being permitted to accessthe phone P2 14 as depicted at step 93 of FIG. 4. If the Business Logic34 determines that the calling number is on the list of never-accessiblenumbers as depicted at step 93, the Business Logic 34, in conjunctionwith the SCP 24 may cause a connection in the form of a T1 link or anyother suitable communication link to be established between theIntelligent Peripheral or Voice Response Unit (VRU) 38 and the MSC 18.The MSC 18 then couples the VRU 38 through to the calling party. Anaudible message specified by the Business Logic 34 is played to thecalling party by the VRU 38 to indicate that the called party is notaccessible as depicted at step 94. The SCP 24 then causes the T1connection between the VRU 38 and the MSC 18 to be torn down and the SCP24 signals the Signal Switching Point SSP 1 20 to disconnect the callfrom the calling party.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the number of the calling partydoes not correspond to an always-accessible number or a never-accessiblenumber, as depicted at step 96, the Business Logic determines whetherthe present time is within a period during which general phone usage isprohibited, e.g. between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on a weekday in the instantexample. If the present time is within a prohibited period, the BusinessLogic 34 causes a connection to be established between the VRU 38 andthe calling phone P5 50 and causes the VRU 38 to play a messageindicating that the called phone is not accessible at the present timeas shown at step 97 of FIG. 4. If a cut-through code is entered within apredetermined time period as depicted in step 98, the Business Logic 34verifies the cut-through code and the SCP 24 signals the MSC 18 toconnect the calling party to the supervised phone P2 14 as shown in step102 by forwarding a control message of a first type. If the propercut-through code is not entered within the predetermined time period,the Business Logic 34 causes the SCP 24 to initiate SS7 signaling via acontrol message of a second type that causes the T1 connection betweenthe VRU 38 and the MSC 18 to be broken and the call to be released asdepicted in step 104.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the present time is not withina time period specified within the respective user profile as a periodduring which general phone usage is prohibited per step 96, the BusinessLogic 34 determines whether a limit has been established for the numberof minutes the phone may be used within a control period and whether thenumber of allotted minutes for the applicable control period have beenexhausted as depicted at step 100. If the total number of allocatedminutes for the control period have been exhausted, the Business Logic34 in conjunction with the SCP 24 causes a connection to be made betweenthe VRU 38 and the calling party via the MSC 18, and causes a message tobe played by the VRU 38 indicating that the called party is notaccessible as shown at step 97 of FIG. 4. If a proper cut-through codeis entered within a specified time period, the Business Logic 34 causesa control message of a first type to be forwarded to the MSC 18 tosignal the MSC 18 that the call should be connected. If thepredetermined time period has expired without entry of a propercut-through code, the Business Logic 34, in conjunction with the SCP 24,causes the connection between the VRU 38 and the MSC 18 to be torn down.The Business Logic 34 also initiates signaling of the MSC 18 via acontrol message of a second type that indicates that the call should notbe completed.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the allocated minutes for thecontrol period for the called party have not been exhausted, theBusiness Logic 34 next determines whether the calling party has calledthe supervised user's phone when the phone happens to be at a geographiclocation at which the use of the phone is restricted as depicted in step106. If it is determined in step 106 that the called phone is not at alocation at which the use of the phone is restricted, the Business Logic34 initiates signaling of the MSC 18 to cause the call from the callingparty to the supervised user's phone P2 to be connected as depicted atstep 108.

If the incoming call is placed to the supervised phone at a time whenthe supervised phone is at a location at which the use of the phone isrestricted, a message may be played to the calling party advising thatthe called phone is not accessible as discussed above with respect tostep 97. If a proper cut-through code is not entered within thepredetermined time period, the Business Logic 34 initiates signaling ofthe MSC 18 to prevent the call from being connected as shown in step104. Alternatively, if the calling party enters the applicablecut-through code as depicted in step 98, the Business Logic initiatessignaling of the MSC 18 to instruct the MSC 18 to connect the call asshown in step 102.

It should be recognized that the order of the above steps may be variedand/or selected types of restrictions may be omitted, without departingfrom the presently disclosed invention and that the present inventioninvolves the functions that are provided rather than the particularorder in which such functions are realized. Additionally, the testsapplied by the Business Logic 34 may be tests framed in the context ofpermissive use of the supervised phone rather than in terms ofrestrictions on use of the supervised phone. By way of example, the UserProfile Database 32 in one embodiment includes parameters that definetime intervals during which calls are permitted and/or locations atwhich calls are permitted. The Business Logic 34 in such embodiment isoperative to test the current time to determine if the current time iswithin a time period during which use of the phone is permitted and/ortest the current location to determine if the phone is at a location atwhich use of the phone is permitted. The Business Logic 34 initiatesappropriate signaling to the MSC 18 depending upon the outcome of thecomparisons.

Appropriate signaling between the MSC 18 and the Business Logic 34 viathe SCP 24 is maintained to update the call usage information so thatthe number of minutes used by the supervised user within the respectivecontrol period does not exceed the total number of minutes allotted forgeneral phone usage within the control period. Thus, the SCP 24, inresponse to a command from the Business Logic 34 may signal the homeserving system MSC 18 to release a call upon a determination that thetotal minute allotment for the control period has been exhausted orallow the respective call to complete as discussed below. Prior tocausing a call to be released due to the exhaustion of the totalallotted minutes within the applicable control period, the SupervisoryControl System 22 may cause a tone to be injected into the ongoing callbetween the calling party and the supervised phone to indicate to therespective subscribed user that the call is to be released after apredetermined period. This function may be initiated by the SCP 24, theBusiness Logic 34, or a combination of both depending upon the designpartitioning in a given system. The warning tone may be played by theVRU 38 or injected via any other suitable device.

In an alternative embodiment, even if the total number of minutes usedby a supervised user within a control period is exceeded during thependency of a call, the Supervisory Control System 22 permits the callto continue to its completion by the parties. Subsequent general usagecalls are blocked until a new control period commences or untilmodification of the usage controls within the User Profile Database 32by the Supervisor S1 10 so as to permit further general usage calls.

4b. Supervisory Control System Operation for Outgoing Calls from aSupervisory Control System Subscriber

Operation and signaling of the Supervisory Control System 22 withrespect to an outgoing telephone call that is placed by a SupervisoryControl System 22 subscriber P2 14 is described below with respect toFIG. 1 and flow charts of FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 1 is employed toillustrate the circumstance in which the wireless supervised phone P2 14places a call to phone P5 50 that is initially received by the MSC 18 ofthe home serving system. It is assumed for purposes of the presentdiscussion that Supervisor S1 10 has established a user profile forphone P2 14 and that the user profile for the phone P2 14 prohibitsgeneral phone usage during school hours from 8:00 am to 4:00 pmweekdays.

In the instant example, the call is placed by a calling party U2 46 fromwireless phone P2 14 to a called party and is received at step 110 ofFIG. 5 by the associated MSC 18 in SSP 1 20 as shown. The MSC 18associated with SSP 1 20 accesses the respective Home Location Register(HLR) 56 and performs a lookup based on an extracted MSID. The HLR 56contains a record that includes an indication whether service isrequired by the Supervisory Control System service provider. If an entryin the applicable HLR record indicates that the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 should be signaled to advise of the pending call, SSP 1 20signals the SCP 24 within the Supervisory Control System 22 to indicatethat there is a pending call as depicted at step 112. If the applicableHLR record does not indicate that Supervisory Control System servicesare required, the call is processed in accordance with conventional callprocessing protocols.

Once the Supervisory Control System 22 receives a signal indicating thata call is pending from a Supervisory Control System subscriber, theBusiness Logic 34 within the SDP 30 of the Supervisory Control System 22executes a program to determine what services and signaling need to beinitiated by the Supervisory Control System 22.

More specifically, as depicted at step 114 of FIG. 5, the Business Logic34 performs a lookup within the User Profile Database 32 to ascertainwhether the MSID of the calling party corresponds to an MSID within theUser Profile Database 32. If, as a consequence of the lookup, it isdetermined that the MSID corresponds to an MSID within the User ProfileDatabase 32, the Business Logic 34 executes a program to ascertain howthe call should be handled. In particular, if the MSID of the callingparty corresponds to the MSID of a phone having a record within the UserProfile Database 34, the Business Logic 34 accesses the relevant datawithin the applicable record of the User Profile Database 32, accessescurrent state information, such as time, date and calling number, anddetermines what action should be taken as illustrated at step 116. Anexemplary series of steps that may be executed within the Business Logic34 is described below with reference to FIG. 6.

As shown at step 120 of FIG. 6, the Business Logic 34 determines whetherthe called number corresponds to an always-accessible telephone number,i.e. a telephone number that can always be accessed by the respectivephone P2 14. For example, in the instant example, it is assumed thatcalls to one or more numbers associated with the Supervisor S1 10 (suchas the Supervisor's home and wireless numbers) may always be completed.If the called number corresponds to a telephone number that is specifiedin the User Profile Database 32 as being always accessible, the BusinessLogic 34 signals the SCP 24 that the call can be put through as depictedat step 122, and the SCP 24 signals the MSC 18 then associated with thephone P2 14 to allow the call to be connected to the called party. Inresponse, the SSP 1 20 routes the call from phone P2 14 through to thecalled party to establish the desired connection.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the called number does notcorrespond to a number that is always accessible by the phone P2 14, theBusiness Logic 34 determines whether the called number corresponds to anumber that is never permitted to be accessed by the phone P2 14 asillustrated at step 124. This determination is made by obtaining thecalled number from the DNIS or any other suitable identifier and bycomparing the called number to the never-accessible numbers previouslyentered into the User Profile Database 32 by the Supervisor S1 10. Ifthe Business Logic 34 determines that the called number is on thenever-accessible list, the Business Logic 34 may cause a connection tobe established between the Intelligent Peripheral or Voice Response Unit(VRU) 38 and the MSC 18 serving the phone P2 14 via a T1 link 60 asshown or via any other suitable communications link. The Business Logic34 then causes an audible message to be played to the phone P2 14 viathe VRU 38 to indicate to the User U2 46 that the called party is notaccessible as illustrated at step 126. The Business Logic 34 finallycauses the T1 link (or other connection) between the VRU 38 and MSC 18serving the phone P2 14 to be torn down and causes the SCP 24 to signalthe SSP 1 20 to prevent the call from the phone P2 14 to the callednumber from being connected by forwarding a control message to the SSP 120.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the number of the called partydoes not correspond to an always-accessible number or a never-accessiblenumber, the Business Logic 34 determines whether the present time iswithin a period during which general phone usage is prohibited asdepicted at step 128, e.g. between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on a weekday inthe instant example. If the present time is within a prohibited period,the Business Logic 34 causes a connection to be established between theVRU 38 and the MSC 18 associated with the calling phone P2 14 and causesthe VRU 38 to play a message indicating that the call cannot beconnected at the present time. The Business Logic 34 then causes the T1link 60 between the VRU 38 and the respective SSP 1 20 to be torn downand causes SCP 24 to signal the MSC 18 by forwarding a control messagethat indicates that the call should be released as shown at step 126.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the present time is not withina time period specified within the respective user profile as a periodduring which general phone usage is prohibited, the Business Logic 34determines whether the total number of allotted minutes for the monthhave already been exhausted as depicted at step 130. If the total numberof minutes have been exhausted, the Business Logic 34 causes aconnection to be made between the VRU 38 and the MSC 18 serving thecalling phone P2 14, and causes a message to be played by the VRU 38 tothe phone P2 14 indicating that the called party is not accessible asillustrated at step 126. The Business Logic 34 then causes theconnection between the VRU 38 and the respective MSC 18 to be torn downand initiates signaling by the SCP 24 to have the call from wirelessphone P2 14 released by the serving MSC 18.

If the Business Logic 34 determines that the allotment of minutes forthe relevant control period have not been exhausted, the Business Logic34 determines if the calling phone P2 is subject to a locationrestriction as depicted at step 132 and as specified in the User ProfileDatabase 32. If the supervised user's phone P2 14 is subject to alocation restriction, the Business Logic 34 causes a connection to bemade between the VRU 38 and the MSC 18 serving the calling phone P2 14,and causes a message to be played by the VRU 38 to the phone P2 14indicating that the called party is not accessible as illustrated atstep 126. The Business Logic 34 then causes the connection between theVRU 38 and the respective MSC 18 to be torn down and initiates signalingby the SCP 24 to have the call from wireless phone P2 14 released by theserving MSC 18.

If the Business Logic 34 determines in step 132 that no locationrestriction is applicable to the use of the phone P2 14, the BusinessLogic 34 initiates signaling by the SCP 24 to the respective SSP 1 20 toconnect the subscriber's phone P2 14 to the called party as shown atstep 134.

It should be recognized that the order of the above steps may be variedand/or selected types of restrictions may be omitted.

4c. Updating of Phone Usage Information

Appropriate signaling between the respective SSP 1 20 and theSupervisory Control System 22 is maintained during a call to update thecall usage information so that the total allotment of minutes forgeneral phone usage within the control period is not exceeded unlesspermitted as specified in the User Profile Database 32. Time monitoringmay be performed by the SCP 24, the Business Logic 34, or a combinationof both based upon the particular design partitioning for theSupervisory Control System 22. Such time monitoring of call length maybe performed by the Supervisory Control System 22 via a signaling pathbetween the SCP 24 and the respective MSC 18 that is maintained whilethe call is pending. The Supervisory Control System 22 updates theminutes remaining and may cause the SCP 24 to signal the SSP 1 20associated with the calling party to release the call upon determiningthat the allotment of minutes for the control period has been exhaustedif so specified by the Supervisory Control System 22.

In an alternative embodiment, even if the total number of minutes usedby a supervised user within a control period is exceeded during thependency of a call, the Supervisory Control System 22 permits the callto continue to its completion by the parties. Subsequent general usagecalls are blocked until a new control period or modification by theSupervisor S1 10 of the usage controls within the User Profile Database32 so as to permit further general usage calls.

Other desired supervisory functions may be performed by the BusinessLogic 34. Signaling between the Supervisory Control System platform 22and the applicable SSP 1 20 may be accomplished via any suitablesignaling technique.

4d. Roaming Scenarios

FIG. 2 depicts the circumstance in which a supervised wireless phone isserved by an MSC outside the home system. In the instance in which thesubscriber U2 46 is roaming, when the subscriber activates the phone P214, the MSC 66 accesses a central database 64 using an MSID for theroaming phone to perform a record lookup. The record retrieved from thecentral database 64 is used to populate the Visitor Location Register(VLR) 65 for the respective MSC 66 as is known in the art. When a callthat is placed from the wireless phone P2 is received by the local MSC66, the MSC 66 uses an MSID associated with the calling wireless phoneP2 to perform a lookup within the VLR 65. The record obtained from theVLR includes information instructing the MSC 66 to signal theSupervisory Control System 22 if Supervisory Control System services maybe required. Once the SCP 24 within the Supervisory Control System issignaled that Supervisory Control System services are required,processing within the Supervisory Control System 22 proceeds generallyas described above, noting that appropriate SS7 signaling is employed asis known in the art for completion, release, and VRU messaging ofwireless calls initiated from serving systems other than the homeserving system.

Additionally, the Supervisory Control System 22 is invoked with respectto calls received by the supervised phone P2 14 when the phone P2 14 isroaming, noting that appropriate SS7 signaling is employed as is knownin the art for completion, release, VRU messaging and tone injection forwireless calls that are received by the supervised phone P2 14.

4e. Enterprise Embodiment

While the preceding examples have described operation of the disclosedsystem in the context of a parent supervising the wireless phones ofchildren, the disclosed system may similarly be used by a manager withinan enterprise to control the usage of wireless phones by employees underhis or her supervision. For example, a business organization with anumber of employees may be broken down as the following exampleindicates:

Senior Management—4

Sales—5

Client and Field Support—10

In the present example, 19 phones are available for senior management,sales, and client and field support, collectively, and each employee isto be separately allocated a number of minutes for phone use during thecontrol period. The business does not plan to control usage among SeniorManagement and Sales employees, but desires to control usage amongclient and field support employees. Accordingly, the Supervisory ControlSystem account for the business is configured by the responsible managerand the 10 phones provided to the Client and Field Support employees maybe treated as a single group of users as further discussed.

The manager navigates to a predetermined Web-site and is prompted tocreate the necessary Supervisory Control System account. The managerprovides his name, company name, service account number for thebusiness, and email address, and creates a login name and password. Themanager then defines the wireless phones that are to be controlled underthe Supervisory Control System account. The wireless phones undersupervision are thus associated with a corporate Supervisory ControlSystem account number for the business. For example, in the case where10 phones are identified in association with the Supervisory ControlSystem account, an account summary screen may be presented on which anidentification of the 10 phones is entered. The manager is thenpermitted to provision a name next to each of the 10 phones. In oneembodiment, by default, the 10 phones are initially setup in a singlegeneric “group” in which they are enabled minimally to call each other.However, though they are initially provisioned to call each other, themanager may further add other names and numbers that the phones shouldbe always available, with respect to calls from and/or to the phones inthe initial group, including headquarters numbers, other wirelessnumbers for employees, etc. Additionally, the manager may establish aspecific number of allocated “general purpose” minutes that each phonein the group is allocated to use on a periodic basis. This allocationallows the employee to place calls to other numbers until the allocationhas been exhausted. Similarly, a never-accessible list of numbers may bedefined for the group. The never-accessible list includes numbers thatcannot be the source or destination number for calls involving therespective supervised phone.

At this point, the provisioning process is complete, and the phones areavailable for use. The manager, for example, is shown an account summaryscreen, showing the phones as members of a “Default Group”. At asubsequent point in time, the manager may wish to perform managementfunctions with respect to the previously defined Supervisory ControlSystem account. When the manager subsequently logs into the system viathe Web server, he or she is again taken to the account summary screen.On the account summary screen, the last view of the managed groups isdisplayed. For example, an “open” default group folder would bedisplayed, and a “modify properties” button shown with the 10 phonesbelow it, and showing the MSID, Name, Used/Allocated minutes and a“modify properties” button for each phone. If the manager clicks on the“modify properties” button on for the default group, he or she isenabled to perform the following functions:

(a) Modify the numbers listed under the always-accessible andnever-accessible lists, by editing numbers on the lists, and adding ordeleting number to or from the lists respectively,

(b) Modify the allocation of minutes for the control period for thegroup,

(c) Modify any incoming or outgoing call time restrictions associatedwith the group, and

(d) Modify any other restrictions maintained in the User ProfileDatabase 32 that may be specified by the Supervisor.

When modifying group properties, the modifications take effect for allmembers of the group. Additionally, the usage properties of the phonesmay be separately modified. Additionally, where particular messages arespecified to be played on the occurrence of certain associated events,such as call blocking, those messages may be defined on a group widebasis. When it is desired to add new phones to the account, for example,when more phones are purchased for new client services employees, themanager can add those phones to the existing group through the WebServer interface after their service is provisioned by the wirelesscarrier. When the manager logs onto the graphical user interfaceprovided by the Web server 36, the new phones automatically appear aspart of the default group, and automatically take on the properties ofthe default unless the manager “moves” them, for example by adrag-and-drop operation, into another group. The manager is also enabledto define and/or define the name(s) associated with the new phonesthrough the Web Server 36. In this way, multiple user groups can bedefined and named with associated use parameters, and users canconveniently be added to and/or moved between the various groups withinan Supervisory Control System account.

Additionally, wireless phones of supervised users may include a residentprogram that permits a client application to be downloaded from theSupervisory Control System 22. For example a Binary Runtime Environmentfor Wireless (BREW) application that provides a user interface for quickaccess to the always-accessible numbers they can call, by name, may bedownloaded from the Supervisory Control System 22. Such a clientapplication may be configured to connect to the Supervisory ControlSystem 22 at startup to retrieve always-accessible numbers.

4f. SIM Embodiment

The disclosed system may employ a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)module within the wireless phone to provide certain filters for outgoingcalls from the respective wireless phone under supervision. In such anembodiment, parameters relevant to outgoing call restrictions may bedownloaded or otherwise communicated to the SIM within the respectivewireless phone from the User Profile Database 32 and may then be storedon and processed using the SIM when an outgoing call is dialed from therespective wireless phone. By way of example, and not limitation,location restrictions, never-accessible number restrictions, time of dayrestrictions and/or date restrictions specific to the user may be storedwithin the SIM of the respective wireless phone. In response to thedialing of an outgoing number, the restrictions applicable to therespective phone and stored within the SIM may be tested to determinewhether the connection of the call would be contrary to anyrestrictions. The processing logic associated with this determinationmay be made by a processor within the SIM or within the wireless phone.Additionally, the parameters defining the use restrictions (orpermissive uses) may be stored on a memory within the SIM oralternatively within portions of a memory shared with program codeexecuted by a processor within the wireless handset. By filteringoutgoing calls in the above-described manner, network traffic andexternal processing is reduced since signaling to the SupervisoryControl System 22 is avoided and processing pertaining to calls filteredby the SIM need not be performed by the Supervisory Control System 22.The relevant parameters for such outgoing call restrictions may beupdated when the phone is powered on and registered within the wirelessnetwork to assure that the parameters reflect the current parameterspertaining to use restrictions for the respective wireless phone.

5. System Architecture

The presently described supervisory system may be employed inconjunction with a billing process for wireless phones. For example,call rating data and other parameters applicable to billing functionsmay be stored in a first database that is used by a first server toperform the billing functions as known in the art, such as a prepaidbilling process for wireless phones.

A second database may be used to store parameters applicable to thepresently disclosed supervisory restrictions and a second serverexecuting the presently disclosed supervisory process and including thefunctions of the Business Logic 34 may be employed to determine whetherto connect a call in view of the stored supervisory restrictions.

The supervisory process may operate as an overlay to the billingprocess. For example, in a prepaid wireless environment, a determinationmay be made whether sufficient funds have been prepaid for the call tobe connected upon execution of the billing process in the first server.If sufficient funds exist in the prepaid account for a call to beconnected, the supervisory process may then be executed to determinewhether the call should be connected. It should be understood that theorder of execution of the billing process and the supervisory processmay be reversed. The billing process and the supervisory process may beexecuted within first and second servers that are separate servers.Alternatively, the first and second servers may comprise the same serverand the billing process and the supervisory process may be executedwithin the same server.

It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that whilethe exemplary embodiments are illustrated in terms of wireless phonecommunications, the inventive concepts described herein are equallyapplicable to data messaging services, such as short messaging service(SMS) and the presently disclosed concepts may be employed to restrictor permit such communications. With respect to restrictions on datamessaging devices, in addition to restrictions applicable to datacommunication devices, such as time of day, location, and devicesassociated with specific individuals, restrictions may be imposed on thenumber of bytes and/or messages to be communicated during a controlperiod. The determination whether to permit a data communication to becompleted may be made at the Supervisory Control System 22.Additionally, determinations whether to restrict outgoing messaging froma wireless device may be made using a processor within the wirelessdevice to reduce network traffic.

Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that programsdefining the functions of the present invention can be delivered to acomputer in many forms; including, but not limited to: (a) informationpermanently stored on non-writable storage media (e.g. read only memorydevices within a computer such as ROM or CD-ROM disks readable by acomputer I/O attachment); or (b) information alterably stored onwritable storage media (e.g. floppy disks and hard drives). In addition,while the invention may be embodied in computer software, the functionsnecessary to implement the invention may alternatively be embodied inpart or in whole using hardware components such as Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits or other hardware, or some combination of hardwarecomponents and software.

While the invention is described through the above exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat modification to and variation of the illustrated embodiments may bemade without departing from the inventive concepts herein disclosed.Accordingly, the invention should not be viewed as limited except by thescope and spirit of the appended claims.

1. A method of controlling communications from a first wirelesscommunication device, comprising the steps of: storing within a databaseat least one parameter corresponding to at least one restriction on useof said first wireless communication device for outgoing communications,said at least one restriction comprising at least one of a time of dayrestriction defining at least one time period during which an outgoingcommunication from said first wireless communication device is notpermitted, an accessibility restriction comprising at least oneidentifier associated with a second communication device that cannot bereached from said first wireless communication device, and a locationrestriction defining at least one location at which an outgoingcommunication from said first wireless communication device is notpermitted; forwarding said at least one parameter from said database tosaid first wireless communication device and storing said at least oneparameter in a memory within said first wireless communication device;in response to an attempt to initiate a communication from said firstwireless communication device to said second communication device,retrieving said at least one parameter from said memory and determiningvia use of a processor within said first wireless communication device,whether a connection of said communication from said first wirelesscommunication device to said second communication device is contrary tosaid at least one restriction; in the event the connection of saidcommunication from said first wireless communication device to saidsecond communication device is not contrary to said at least onerestriction, allowing the communication between said first wirelesscommunication device and said second communication device; and in theevent the connection of said communication from said first wirelesscommunication device to said second communication device is contrary tosaid at least one restriction, preventing the communication from saidfirst wireless communication device to said second communication device.2. The method of claim 1, wherein said communication is a telephonecall, said first wireless communication device comprises a wirelessphone, and said second communication device is another telephone andsaid preventing step includes the step of outputting a predeterminedmessage for delivery to said wireless phone indicating that said callcannot be connected due to a restriction on use.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein said predetermined message indicates that said secondcommunication device associated with said identifier is inaccessible. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein said accessibility restriction definingat least one identifier that cannot be reached from said first wirelesscommunication device comprises a list of identifiers associated withother communication devices that are inaccessible from said firstwireless communication device, said method further including the stepsof: determining whether an identifier associated with said secondcommunication device is included in said list of identifiers; and in theevent said identifier is included in said list of identifiers,preventing said communication from being completed.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further including the step of: determining whether anidentifier corresponding to said second communication device is includedin a list of identifiers that can always be reached; and in the eventthe connection of said communication is contrary to a use restrictioncomprising one of said time, date, and location restriction, and saididentifier corresponding to said second communication device is includedin said list of identifiers corresponding to other communication devicesthat can always be reached, allowing said communication between saidfirst wireless communication device and said second communication deviceto proceed.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first wirelesscommunication device comprises a wireless phone, said secondcommunication device comprise another phone, said communication is acall from said wireless phone to said other phone, the method furtherincluding the steps of: determining whether a predetermined allocationof time for a specified control period associated with said wirelessphone has been fully depleted; determining whether an identifiercorresponding to said other phone is included in a list of identifiersassociated with other phones that may always be called; and in the eventsaid predetermined allocation of time associated with said wirelessphone has been fully depleted and said identifier corresponding to saidother phone is in said list of identifiers that may always be called,connecting said wireless phone to said other phone.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said determining step comprises the step of executingprogram code on said processor within said first wireless communicationdevice to determine whether the connection of said communication iscontrary to said at least one restriction.
 8. Apparatus for controllingusage of a wireless device comprising: a first memory within saidwireless device for storing at least one parameter specifying at leastone restriction on use of said wireless device for outgoingcommunications, said at least one restriction on use comprising at leastone of a time of day restriction defining times during which an outgoingcommunication from said wireless device is not permitted, anaccessibility restriction defining at least one identifier associatedwith another communication device that is inaccessible for outgoingcommunications from said wireless device, and a location restrictiondefining at least one restricted location from which an outgoingcommunications from said wireless device is not permitted; at least oneprocessor within said wireless device; a second memory operable to storeprogram code executable on said at least one processor; and program codestored in said second memory and executable on said at least oneprocessor, said program code operable: to detect the initiation of acommunication from said wireless device to said other communicationdevice and, responsive to said initiation, to determine whether aconnection of said communication between said wireless device and saidother communication device is contrary to said at least one restriction;to permit said communication from said wireless device to said othercommunication device in the event said connection is not contrary tosaid at least one restriction; and to prevent said communication fromsaid wireless device to said other communication device in the eventsaid communication is contrary to at least one of said at least onerestriction.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said first and secondmemories comprise different portions of the same memory.
 10. A systemfor controlling usage of a wireless device, comprising: at least oneserver operable to execute a billing process for controlling billing ofat least one call involving said wireless device, and to execute asupervisory process for controlling usage of said wireless device; atleast one first database containing billing parameters and predeterminedbilling criteria applicable to said wireless device, said at least onefirst database being accessible by said at least one server duringexecution of said billing process, wherein said billing process isoperative to permit a billing administrator to establish said billingparameters and said predetermined billing criteria in said at least onefirst database; and a second database containing at least onerestriction parameter defining at least one restriction on the use of,wherein said supervisory process is operative to permit an accountsupervisor having secure access rights to said second database tospecify said at least one restriction parameter, wherein said billingprocess is operative to determine if said call is connectable based uponsaid billing parameters and said predetermined billing criteria, whereinsaid supervisory process is operative to determine if said call isconnectable based upon whether said call, if connected, would violatesaid at least one restriction on the use of said wireless device,wherein, in the event one of said billing process and said supervisoryprocess determines that said call involving said wireless device is notconnectable, said system is operative to prevent said call involvingsaid wireless device from being connected, and wherein, in the eventboth of said billing process and said supervisory process determine thatsaid call involving said wireless device is connectable, said system isoperative to allow said call involving said wireless device to beconnected.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein said at least one servercomprises a single server operative to execute said billing process andsaid supervisory process.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein said firstdatabase and said second database comprise portions of a singledatabase.
 13. The system of claim 10 wherein said second databasecontains a value defining a time duration that said wireless device maybe used within a predetermined period, wherein said predetermined periodcomprises a calendar month and said value comprises a specified numberof minutes, and wherein said supervisory process is operative: tomaintain a record of time usage for said wireless phone within saidpredetermined period; and to prevent said call involving said wirelessphone from being connected in the event said record of time usageindicates that said wireless phone has been used within saidpredetermined period for a period equal to said time duration.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10 wherein said supervisory process is operative tomaintain a record of time usage for said wireless device within apredetermined period, wherein said second database includes an alwaysaccessible number associated with another communication device that mayalways be called by said wireless device, and wherein said billingprocess is operative to exclude time involving calls between saidwireless device and said other communication device from said record oftime usage.
 15. The system of claim 10 wherein said billingadministrator has first defined access rights to information containedwithin said at least one first database, and wherein said accountsupervisor has second defined access rights to information containedwithin said second database, said second defined access rights beingdifferent from said first defined access rights.